Spursvs.Frankfurt

After losing in the EFL Cup semi-finals to Liverpool, everything has felt geared towards a Europa League charge to save Spurs' season, with Postecoglou adamant he can still deliver a trophy within that two-year window.

Match preview

It has not been an easy week for Postecoglou, as he has had to deal with more questions about his future, as well as seeing VAR deny him a potential point at Chelsea, while hearing the Spurs supporters boo his substitutes at Stamford Bridge.

Spurs were beaten 1-0, but after bringing Pape Sarr off the bench to a chorus of boos from the away end, the midfielder found the net before it was disallowed for a foul, and Postecoglou appeared to cup his ears to the away end, something he vehemently denied.

The narrow 3-1 win to a now-relegated Southampton on Sunday will not have done much to improve the ill-feeling between the two parties, but an impressive performance and result in this first leg certainly will.

A positive first-leg performance was definitely not seen in the last 16 though, when Spurs were woeful away to AZ Alkmaar and were lucky to leave with only a one-goal deficit, but they made amends with a 3-1 win at home to book their spot in the quarter-finals.

Spurs were largely impressive in the UEL league phase, finishing fourth, and they are third-favourites to win the competition, but before even reaching the final, they will need to come through two challenging tests, as Lazio are set to await the winners of this tie, if they see off Bodo/Glimt.

This is the host's first European quarter-final since 2019 when they knocked Manchester City out on away goals on the way to the final after one of the most dramatic second legs in Champions League history.

However, the first-leg win they achieved in that tie remains the only quarter-final success they have managed in 13 attempts, so something must change here if they are to keep their season alive.

Spurs met Frankfurt in the group stages of the Champions League in 2022-23, but the only previous knockout tie between the two was at this stage of the 1981-82 Cup Winners' Cup when the English side edged out their German counterparts 3-2 on aggregate.

For Frankfurt, this is a path they have trodden before, with it being their third Europa League quarter-final in six years.

An ominous sign for Spurs is that Frankfurt have failed to win either of the first legs in those two previous ties, but they still went on to progress, famously away at the Nou Camp on the way to winning the competition in 2022.

This is their competition, with just two defeats in 23 UEL games, many of which did come in the 2021-22 season when Oliver Glasner led them to continental glory, but the current crop also looks capable of going all the way.

Dino Toppmoller's men thrashed Ajax 6-1 on aggregate in the last 16 after coming fifth in the league phase, but the truth is that they have looked slightly poorer since Omar Marmoush left for Man City in January.

The visitors have won just five of their last 13 matches, and suffered another defeat at the weekend, going down 2-0 at Werder Bremen, but they were still able to retain third place in the Bundesliga despite that result.

Tottenham Hotspur Europa League form:

D

D

W

W

L

W

Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions):

L

D

W

L

L

W

Eintracht Frankfurt Europa League form:

W

L

W

L

W

W

Eintracht Frankfurt form (all competitions):

W

L

W

W

W

L

Team News

Spurs will remain without Dejan Kulusevski and Kevin Danso for the next couple of weeks, potentially keeping them out of both legs of this tie, while Radu Dragusin will miss the rest of the season with an ACL tear.

Timo Werner will not be able to face the club from his homeland, as he is not registered in Spurs' Europa League squad, but Richarlison could be in line for some minutes after returning from injury at the weekend.

Rodrigo Bentancur is back from the ban that kept him out of the second leg against AZ, while Postecoglou was keen to keep injury-prone pair Micky van den Ven and Destiny Udogie in reserve at the weekend ahead of this tie.

Frankfurt will have Nnamdi Collins available after a European suspension at the back, but in goal, the inexperienced Kaua Santos may have to continue, given the injury to Kevin Trapp, and the fact Jens Grahl is unregistered.

Oscar Hojlund, brother of Rasmus, and Junior Dina Ebimbe will also be unavailable as they are not registered, while Ansgar Knauff and Elye Wahi are currently sidelined with injury, but Croat Igor Matanovic returned at the weekend after a two-month absence.

Youngster Can Uzun could be back after illness, but veteran defender Timothy Chandler is still on the treatment table with a long-term hamstring problem.

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:

Vicario; Pedro Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bergvall, Maddison, Bentancur; Johnson, Solanke, Son

Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:

Kaua Santos; Kristensen, Theate, Koch, Brown; Shkiri, Larsson, Tuta; Gotze, Ekitike, Bahoya

We say: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Eintracht Frankfurt

Spurs have reserved most of their best form for the Europa League this season, and Postecoglou must ensure his side takes an advantage into the second leg at least, if he wants to alleviate the pressure on his job.

Written by

Andrew Delaney

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